Smear campaign to discredit Atapattu

So far, the allegations are based on rumour and hearsay and nothing has been proved despite alleged mobile phone text message claims linking to two with the high jinks that go on at the sleazy revue and cabaret joint.

It is known that legal teams in Colombo and London, representing both alleged parties, have been made aware of the allegations and are looking into the possibility of legal action, as there are also claims that the Mumbai bar stories are part of a smear campaign.

This emerges with suggestions that Colombo underworld and mafia types, said to be tied up with former SLC administrators who were ejected by the government earlier this year on the excuse of serious fiscal negligence. This has resulted in the installation of a government appointed interim committee, bent more on a money-saving exercise than running the game.

Sources close to the SLC have suggested that senior board administrators were the brains behind the ‘Marvan money in the safe scam’ last year to discredit Atapattu and have him removed as Sri Lanka captain as they wanted someone else.

It has been pointed out that whoever planted the money made two errors. One was the use of Sri Lanka currency and not US dollars, as local currency is easier to trace than dollars.

The money in the bag was later handed over to SLC officials by the hotel. Sources said that they would not be surprised if the same administrators’ fingers were not involved in this nefarious pie as well as it had the similar trademarks to the ‘money’ scam.